Car mover



Dec. 25, 1934. H DODGE 1,985,317

I CAR MOVER Filed March 15, 1934 Y lnvenToT. Uohn HqDodge byMMlcW v AITys.

Patented Dec. 25, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to car movers and particularly to car movers of that type which are made with replaceable rail-gripping dogs.

Some of the objects of the invention are to provide a novel car mover of this type which has superior rail gripping qualities, which is constructed with novel means for retaining the dogs in place and which has other novel features of construction as will be more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a side View of a car mover embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2, g- 1; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the retaining plate by which the rail-gripping dogs are heldin position;

dogs.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6--6, Fig. 2. The car mover is of that known type which comprises a fulcrum block'l adapted to rest on end a wheel-engaging shoe 5 adapted to engage the wheel .6 of the railway car. The shoe 5 is shown as pivotally mounted on the end of the lever as indicated at '7. -The leveris of that known type comprising a metal portion 8 and a wooden handle extension 9.

In using a car mover of this type it is placed on the rail in the rear of the car wheel 6 and with the shoe 5 engaging the periphery of the wheel. A downward pressure on the handle 9 will obviously cause the car wheel 6 to be rotated forwardly.

In order to be effective the fulcrum block 1 should be constructed so that itwill have a nonslipping engagement with the rail 2 and thereby be prevented from slipping backwardly on the rail when the car-moving force is applied to the handle 9. The present invention relates to novel features which give the car mover superior rail-gripping qualities.

The fulcrum block 1 is formed with two cheek pieces 30 and 31 between which the lever 3 is received and these cheek pieces are connected by the front bridge piece 32 and the rear bridge piece 33. rear with two laterally and downwardly extending arms 10 which form in'effect extensions of the rear bridge piece 33.

Each of the arms 10 is formed on its under Fig. 5 is a perspective view of .one of the.

therail 2 and which has a lever 3 pivotally connected thereto at 4, saidlever carrying at. itsv the ends of the dogs rest against the flanges 2D The fulcrum block is provided at its side with a dog-receiving groove 11 adapted to receive a rail-gripping dog 12. In the construction herein shown the dogs 12 are square in cross section and are preferably made of hardened metal. Eachdog thus presents four longitudinal 5 edges 13. v a 1 Each recess 11 is shown as V-shaped and is constructed to partially receive one of the dogs 12. The dogs'l2 are held in their recesses by a re taining memberl which is secured to the under side of the fulcrum'block l and which is provided with openings through which the operative edges of the dogs project. This retaining member 14 has the central portion 15 and thedownwardly and outwardly-inclined portions 16. The retain- 15 ing member is also formed with two recesses 17 to partially receive the dogs 12 and with openings 18 communicating with the recesses and through which the operative edges of the dogs project.-

When the retaining plate 14 is in place the central portion 15 thereof. fits against the under face of the rear bridge 33 of the fulcrum member 1 and the two. downwardly and outwardly-inclined wing portions 16 fit against the under faces of the arms 10. The recesses 17 in the-wings 16 mate 25 with therecesses 11 and form spaces in which the dogs lz'arereceived."

The thickness of the retaining plate 14. is such that when it is in its operative position the lower edges 13 of the dog will project through the open- 30 ings 18' and thus be exposedfor engagement with the rail 2. I

The rear edge ofthe retaining member 14 is provided with the upstanding lip 19 which fits against the rear face of the fulcrum. block 1 and 35 the ends of the wings 16 are provided with flanges 20 which partially overlie the end faces-of the arms 10. These flanges 20 form closed ends for the openings 18 and when the dogs are in place and said dogs are retained in position thereby. The retaining member 14 is provided at its front face with an upstanding ear 21 which is situated between the two cheek pieces 30, 31 and engages the front face of the rear bridge portion 33.

24 indicates a bolt which extends through the retaining plate 14 and by which the retaining plate is held in position.

When the car mover is in use the front bridge portion 32 and the operative edges of the dogs 12 engage the rail. H The force applied to the car wheel 6 to'rotate the car forwardtends to force the fulcrum block 1 backwardly on the rail, such backward force being resisted by the biting engagement of the operative edges 13 of'the dogs 55 with the corners of the rail which are usually slightly softer than other portions thereof. The resisting of this force would tend to rock the dogs in the grooves 11 but the dogs are prevented from having any rocking movement by the retaining member 14.

The flange 19 and ear 21 serve to transmit any strain to which the retaining plate is subjected directly to the fulcrum block thereby relieving the bolt 24 from any strain except that necessary to hold the retaining plate against the under side of the fulcrum block.

On referring to Fig. 3 it will be noticed that the under surface of each arm 10 on one side of the groove 11 is at a higher elevation than on the other side. Referring to Fig. 3'it will be noticed that the under surface of the arm 10 or the surface 35, on the left hand side of the groove 11, is at a higher level than the surface 36 at the opposite side of the groove and because of this construction the left hand edge 13 of the dog 12 in Fig. 3 is situated below the face 35.

The retaining plate 14 is of special construction in that'the rear wall 3'7'of each recess 17 extends in an inclined direction from the opening 18 to the top face of the wing 16, and the front wall of each recess presents the inclined face 38 and the vertical face 39.

When each dog is in the recess'the opposite corners 13 come at the upper edges of the inclined surfaces 37 and 38 of the recess and the face 40 is situated above the left hand edge 13 of the dog and meets the under face 35 of the arm 10. By reason of this construction the lower corner 41 of the retaining member is separated from the rail sufficiently so'that there is no possibility of its engaging the rail and thus preventing the operative edge of the dog from having a good biting engagement with the rail.

It will be noted that each dog has four railgripping edges 13 so that when any edge becomes worn or damaged so that it does not afford the proper gripping engagement with the rail it is possible to remove the retaining member 14 and change the position of the dog to place a fresh sharp edge in operative position. Furthermore, the dogs are replaceable so that when all the edges on any dog have become unfit for any further use such dog can be readily replaced by a new dog.

The angular arrangement of the dogs 12 has the advantage that it provides a car mover that can be used with rails having different widths across the top.

In some locations, as at crossings or station platforms, etc., it is customary to build the platform surface flush with the top of the rail, such surface usually contacting with the outside of the rail while a groove or space is left on the inside of the rail to receive the flanges of the car wheels. In using the car mover in a location of this sort one of the dogs will have biting engagement with the corner of the rail inside thereof while the lower outer corner of the other dog will rest on or engage the surface of the platform which is flush with the top surface of the rail and usually in engagement with the outside face of the rail;

The pressure applied to the car mover as it is operated causes the lower outer corner of the dog to bite into this platform surface so that each dog has a proper biting engagement with its sup port, one dog having biting engagement with the inner corner of the rail and the other with the platform surface.

I claim:

1. A car mover comprising a fulcrum block and a car-moving lever pivoted thereto, said fulcrum block having two cheek pieces between which the lever is pivoted, said check pieces being connected by front and rear bridge portions, said block also having two laterally-extending downwardly-inclined arms, each having a groove in itsunder face, a rail-gripping dog occupying each groove and having a rail-engaging edge, a retaining plate secured to the under side of the rear bridge member and provided with recesses in which the dogs are received, and openings through which the operative edges of the dogs project, said retaining plate having a flange to engage the rear face of said rear bridge portion and the rear faces of said arms and also having an upstanding ear fitting between the cheekpieces and engaging the front face of said bridge portion.

2. A car mover comprising a fulcrum block and a car-moving lever pivoted thereto, said fulcrum block comprising two cheek pieces between which the lever is pivoted, and which are connected by front and rear bridge portions, said fulcrum block also having on each side a laterally-extending downwardly-inclined arm provided with a v groove in its under face, said arms being situated in line with the rearbridge portion, a dog rectangular' in cross section occupying each groove, a retaining plate underlying the arms and rear bridge portion, and a bolt securing said retaining plate tothe rear bridge portion, said retaining plate having an opening for each dog through which the rail-engaging edge of the dog projects and also having at its front face an upstanding ear fitting between the cheek pieces and engaging the front of the rear bridge portion and at its rear face an upstanding lip which engages the rear face of the rear bridge portion and the rear of each arm.

JOHN H. DODGE. 

